the wonderful world of veena.

19 February 2015

blog goals for 2015.

Now that I have had this blog for nearly 4.5 years and have over 500 published posts, I figured it's about time that I actually put some effort into expanding it. That's not to say I've not been doing that to an extent already -- I often link to posts on Facebook and Twitter, but they tend to be posts that I think people will be interested in. I have no interest in making my blog a business and profiting off of ads or anything like that; I have a full-time job, and this blog remains a hobby of mine, but I would like to take a stab at diversifying a bit and increasing viewership and shares of posts.

So how exactly do I do that without compromising on my content? It's quite simple and also rather complicated at the same time.

1. Update the design. In December 2010 I chose the "library looking" design for my blog because I love books. And then I decided on a different design because I liked the colour, and for some reason I've stuck with both, which is why my homepage has a lot of colours on it that don't really go together. I want to fix that. I'm still playing around with a few different designs, but I'm hoping to pick one soon.

2. Add pages. Now that I have a lot of content on here, I thought I would break it down a bit. I've got lots of posts on books and travel, and I'll soon have a lot more on life and getting around in India, so I thought I would create some space on here that would provide easy access to those. These are in development but might take some more time as I'm working on getting some illustrations for them as well [the perks of having creative friends :)].

3. Diversify my content. I am still going to write about books and travel, as those will always be big parts of my life. But I also want to talk about life in India and some of my favourite places and tips and tricks for traveling around. Maybe some shorter posts with more pictures. Some Top 10 lists. Who knows. I just want to play around and experiment with what I'm posting. I don't have any series that are running right now other than the monthly photo roundup, so I thought I'd see what other new stuff I can get going. I'm hoping to get a "Best in Bangalore" series going once I'm back for good next month.

4. Increase social media outreach without being obnoxious. Until my time in Nepal and Bombay, I rarely shared my posts. I just never took the extra effort, assuming people didn't care and might get annoyed. Now I have it set up so that every post automatically gets shared to my Google+ page, but I want to start sharing to Twitter and Facebook and maybe even Instagram more regularly as well. I do not, however, want to become annoying or obnoxious about it, which is a fine line to tread. We'll see how successful I am with it. If it gets to be too much, I'll stop.

5. Collaborate with other bloggers. I've been in contact with a few bloggers - mostly travelers - for the last year, and I've slowly been asking about participating in various guest posts or surveys they do. In the fall I contributed a Backpacker's Boutique Guide to Bangalore for Rachel of Hippie In Heels. I'm in the process of collaborating with Margo of The Overseas Escape and Ashley of Ashley Abroad on posts they are working on. And it's been fun. I want to do more of those and branch out into the world. Maybe later in the year I'll host a few guests of my own, but we're not going to get too crazy for the time being.

These might not sound like much right now, but they are all things that will take some time to get off the ground. In the meantime I am having fun brainstorming some new ideas for posts and getting some fun illustrations sorted out.

Wish me luck, and hopefully we will all be enjoying a new "wonderful world" soon!
xx

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all about me.

I am a 5-year-old trapped in a 31-year-old's body. I want to marry MS Dhoni. I think online quizzes are the greatest invention ever. I'm not convinced Elvis is dead. I still believe in Santa Claus. I am slightly in love with Sonu Nigam's voice. I make friends with bartenders and waiters. My hidden talents include sticking my fist in my mouth and touching my tongue to my nose. After a few drinks I pull out my signature dance moves: the lawn mower, the sprinkler, the shopping cart, and the Roger Rabbit. I can imitate Axel Rose’s dance moves. I trip over my own feet at least 3 times a day. My first crush was on Bon Jovi. I always cheer during sports movies. I live for steamed chicken momos and chili pork. I am a compulsive book-buyer. I make the most amazing brownies ever. I finally found out how Buddy returned to the team in Hoosiers. Memphis drivers are the bane of my existence. I cried when they demolished Fulton County Stadium. I could not live without Dr. Pepper or Old Monk. If it's not happening on ESPN, I don't know about it. I still contend that stop signs with white borders are optional. I have a weakness for guys with long curly hair. And they finally opened a Taco Bell in Bangalore.